1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus, and in particular, to an image recording apparatus which records a visual image on an image recording medium from a video signal representing a still picture.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has been proposed, for example, a still image recording apparatus which receives an image signal read out from a video signal recording medium such as a floppy disk, a video tape, or the like and reproduces a visual image on an image recording medium such as a sheet of photosensitive paper. Conventionally, however, in this kind of apparatus a video monitor such as a CRT is not provided, or otherwise a video monitor is included to allow the content of an input image to be viewed. When recording images on photosensitive paper in sequence, if it is required to effect correction of images by setting image processing parameters, such as color tone and gradation to optimal values through visual inspection of images to be recorded on an image monitoring unit, then the monitor is desired to reproduce images accurately corresponding to hard copy images to be recorded on a photosensitive sheet.
A type of recorder of the image recording apparatus includes, for example, a monochromatic CRT having a high brightness display screen on which color-separated images are displayed to be focused on a sheet of print paper through color filters associated with decomposed colors. As well known in photography, the law of subtractive color mixture applies to color reproduction on photosensitive materials, namely, photosensitive dyes, cyan (C), magenta (M) and yellow (Y), are used to compose a color picture; whereas, color reproduction on a CRT screen is conducted according to the law of additive color mixture by which visual radiations from red (R), green (G) and blue (B) phosphor particles are used to form a composite color picture. In general, photosensitive dyes are incomplete in spectral characteristics as compared to luminescent characteristics of a fluorescent material. Consequently, when the same processing is applied to produce images on photographic paper and a phosphor screen, a hard copy image may be lower in chroma saturation than a CRT image.
Moreover, the total gradation characteristics established by a recording CRT and photosensitive paper may not match with those associated with a CRT of a video monitor. In the conventional recording apparatus, consequently, the color tone and the gradation of an image to be printed on a photosensitive sheet are not reproduced with fidelity on a video monitor system. As a consequence, ween recording an image on a print sheet of paper, an experienced skill has been required to record a high-quality image. For example, an operator has to attend to correction operation with differences in gradation between an image displayed on a video monitor and one printed on photosensitive paper taken into account.